Business Today May 8, 2016

Between 2004 and 2008, business leaders in India and around the world were in the grip of unbridled optimism. After two years of lacklustre growth in global GDP, economies around the world had started looking up by end of 2003. By the end of 2004, the trend had become quite pronounced. The Chinese economy was galloping ahead, but other countries were also doing rather well. The US economy was doing well as was most of Europe. Cheap and easy liquidity had boosted a range of sectors in all countries – realty, construction, infrastructure, shipping.... India, Brazil and Russia were growing extremely fast as well. Commodity prices were shooting up as insatiable demand from China for steel, oil, gas, aluminium and coal meant that producers around the world could not keep…

... But Its Hangover May Spill Over This refers to your cover story on the e-commerce industry (The Party Is Over, April 24). The early growth and now expected fall of the e-commerce sector reminds me of the sad plight of the character from the famous nursery rhyme on Humpty Dumpty. So, my version of the rhyme goes here as: E-commerce, E-business climbed up the wall/ E-commerce, E-business has a great fall!/ All the great founders and all the biz men/ Can they put it together on the Pedestal again? Experts feel that the four key areas needed to elevate the e-commerce sector to its initial glory are: a) creating an impact through a well designed digital ecosystem, b) interacting with customers in local/ vernacular languages, c) use of latest…

$11.37 BILLION worth pre-orders for Tesla’s new Model 3, nearly two years before the electric sedan goes on sale. The $35,000 price tag and the Model 3’s 215-mile range were key to the 325,000 people who booked the car. MONSOON ON THE WAY! Everyone – and not just the farmer – is waiting for a good monsoon. And IMD Director General Laxman Rathore brought a collective smile to India’s lips by predicting an above-normal – 106 per cent of average – monsoon this year. The economy can breathe a sigh of relief. WATER, WATER, NOWHERE… …except on the cricketing fields of IPL. But the Bombay High Court’s order to hold all matches post April 30 out of Maharashtra has cheered concerned citizens, and brought on a logistical nightmare for the…

25 PROMOTING NBFCs WHAT: 3rd National Summit on “Non-Banking Finance Companies” WHEN: April 25, Mumbai WHAT TO LOOK FOR: NBFCs have commendable contributions towards financial inclusion, offering credit to retail customers in underserved and unbanked areas. The meet organised by ASSOCHAM in collaboration with Finance Industry Development Council will prepare a roadmap on innovations, diversification and regulatory measures for small and medium NBFCs to help authorities address issues raised by different stakeholders. 26 - 27  THRUST ON SUSTAINABILITY WHAT: The fourth India Sustainability Conclave WHEN: April 26-27, New Delhi WHAT TO LOOK FOR: This edition of the Conclave aims at discovering the momentum that sustainability-related initiatives have gained in the corporate sector, in light of the financial, corporate and environmental regulations mandated by the Indian government in recent times. 2…

Year 2015 saw a decline in the number of profit making CPSEs CPSEs have been grappling with mounting interest burden on their outstanding debt The number of CPSEs referred to BIFR has dropped as many of these companies have folded up The leader... Oil & Natural Gas Corporation tops the charts with highest net profit of 17,732.95 crore, contributing 22.72% to the total profit earned by profit making CPSEs during the year 2014/15 ...and the laggard Bharat Sanchar Nigam incurred the maximum loss of 8,234.09 crore, adding up to 35.22% of the total losses made by all CPSEs during the year Source: Public Enterprises Survey 2014/2015…

"THIS KIND OF DOWNGRADES WAS LAST SEEN IN 2012/13 WHEN WE SAW A BIG SHIFT IN THE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT" Pawan Agrawal, Chief Analytical Officer, Crisil The UK-headquartered Standard Chartered Bank, with large operations in India, is scouting for buyers for $1.4-billion stressed loans given to Indian companies. The news, especially the quantum of the stressed loans, came as a surprise to many, as only public sector banks, or PSBs, which have more than two-third share in deposits and advances, had been hogging the headlines for bad loans all these years. Standard Chartered is not alone. Several foreign and private banks are working overtime to sell bad loans as they come to terms with the stress in their loan books, taking tough decisions wherever required. “They are not going to wait…